Glass lays at the feet of Kamala Harris, a Black and South Asian woman who dared to dream big and broke ceilings to ascend to her new position as Vice President of the United States. On January 20th, 2021 the first woman vice president in the history of this country took the oath of office. For the first time in America’s history, we had to contemplate the title of the second dude, er umm, gentlemen?
In either case, this historical moment sent shockwaves through homes nationwide and to women all over the world. Finally, little girls will be able to open their history books and see a place themselves beyond oppression.
Though women continue to be underrepresented in spaces of power, more and more young women are saying no. The click of Amanda Gorman’s heels trails closely behind Harris, crunching the glass in her path. Don’t get me wrong, the inaugural ceremony of the new administration was significant, but this young poet’s debut was undoubtedly the highlight of the event. In her poem The Hill We Climb, Gorman eloquently depicts the troughs we collectively face and the differences that stand between our triumphs. In under six minutes, this poet deconstructed stereotypes linked to ageism, sexism, ableism, and racism just by her presence as a young black 22-year-old woman who dealt with struggles of a speech impediment.
At several points in our global history including now, the world has rendered women incapable, overambitious, radical, or irrational solely on account of their womanhood. It is the example of phenomenal women that have inspired girls to go against the grain and set a path anew. Our own member of Girls Make Beats, ten-year-old Mak 10, is often heard saying, with confidence, “When I grow up, I’m going to be the first Black woman president of the United States.”
This unshakable faith has been nurtured in spaces like Girls Make Beats under leaders like Tiffany Miranda, Stichiz, and Whitney Taber.
Whitney recalls hosting tours for Girls Make Beats members at Record Plant Studios. Expecting their excitement to come from the state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, you could imagine her surprise at the girls’ reaction to the last stop on her tour—her office. “You have your own office, Miss Whitney!?”, “You get your own desk?”, “I want to be a boss like you when I grow up.” It often brings tears to Whitney’s eyes when she realizes her everyday routine as an executive is an anomaly for most young women. It was not the expensive, elaborate analog boards that impressed the girls, it was the symbol of authority, rank, and power that the office held.
Another way to strengthen the presence of women in male-dominated industries is to empower other women. This trait is deeply rooted in the values of GMB Miami Chapter leader and radio personality, Stichiz. Radio is yet another subdivision of the entertainment industry that is notoriously overtaken by men. Where many fight to get their foot in the door, Stichiz has taken it upon herself to kick the door down and take all her sisters with her. Under her mentorship, young girls have been able to perform on concert stages, shadow celebrity interviews, and even co-host radio segments of their own! In her simple phrase “Love ya for free”, she teaches the girls it costs nothing to be kind and compassionate to others. These lessons of sisterhood and kindness is an inspiring example of achieving and sharing success while maintaining strong values.
As progress continues to be made, work must continue to be done. It was not long ago that the very founder of Girls Make Beats, Tiffany Miranda, was questioned as an engineer, overlooked by her male counterparts, and stifled in her early career by those who weaponized her womanhood. Where many may have been discouraged and laid down their dreams, she rose above the occasion, jumpstarting the careers of hundreds of girls across the globe! Beyond lessons in hardware and software, DJing and production, there are talks of teamwork and leadership, respect and perseverance.
The common thread between all these exceptional women is their confidence, persistence, and resilience. These are strengths of any successful person and one thing is for certain, greatness will never be denied. As hard as some will try, those efforts will not go unnoticed and the women mentioned above and women in your life you may picture now are testaments to those statements.
This coming Friday, February 20th, girls nationwide will have the opportunity to attend a Girls Make Beats orientation to learn more about the program and be exposed to other influential girl bosses taking over the music industry. If you’re looking for a way to get a young girl in your life involved in GMB’s mission, click here.
Peace & blessings, Kaiya Nyasha
(ig/tiktok/twitter @kaiyanyasha)